A Despairing Gap (I)

A Despairing Gap (I)

"One credit, one hundred Gold Soul Coins." After leaving the teaching building and heading toward the Training Field, Ning Rongrong repeatedly counted on her fingers, looking as if her entire worldview had collapsed. "Three credits means three hundred Gold Soul Coins..."

"Dragon Spine Meat sells for five thousand Gold Soul Coins outside." Dai Mubai looked dazed, obliviously stabbing another knife into Ning Rongrong's heart. "That's a tenfold price difference..."

"No, it's a sixteenfold difference." Even the taciturn Zhu Zhuqing had been stunned into silence. Still, she was interested in correcting errors in the numbers. After all, ten times and sixteen times were far more than just a little different. "And it's slightly over sixteen times—close to seventeen."

Qin Ming opened his mouth, then stopped himself.

He recalled the introduction from that dean of students just now.

His heart hurt so much he could barely breathe.

As a teacher at Heaven Dou Royal Academy and the leader of the Royal Fight Team, his salary was not low. Every month on payday, he would go to the Spirit Cuisine Room and buy himself a bowl of spirit cuisine.

Now that he thought about it, how much money had he wasted?

The price of one bowl outside could buy more than sixteen bowls at Blue Tyrant Academy!

Did Blue Tyrant Academy ever consider the feelings of us Soul Masters out in the world when they did this?

Moreover, according to that dean of students, most spirit cuisine was sold outside at more than ten times its cost. For example, Dragon Spine Meat, which sold outside for five thousand Gold Soul Coins a bowl, only cost around five hundred Gold Soul Coins to make.

It would have been one thing if Blue Tyrant Academy students simply received discounts off the cost price. But you raised the external price of spirit cuisine to more than ten times the cost, stuffing all the losses from internal discounts into the external price. Wasn't that a little too shameless?

We all knew that merchants were never honest.

But someone as completely devoid of a bottom line as you was truly a first for us!

While the Shrek group grumbled inwardly, Ye Qingcang had already led them to an open Training Field two hundred meters long and two hundred meters wide. He stopped and turned around.

"Blue Tyrant Academy has many Training Fields."

"The Soul Tool Department has a total of one hundred and seventeen Training Fields."

"The Soul Master Department has a total of one hundred and nineteen Training Fields."

"There are one hundred private Training Fields."

"And several other Training Fields."

Pointing at the Training Field beneath their feet, Ye Qingcang continued, "The one beneath us is one of the public Training Fields. If you think this place isn't fair enough or won't let you display your strength to the fullest, there are other Training Fields for you to choose from. So, are you all ready?"

"What are the other Training Fields like?" Ma Hongjun's eyes darted around as he interjected, "Can we choose the venue ourselves?"

"All Training Fields are divided into two types."

"One is specialized."

"The other is non-specialized."

"You can't enter the specialized ones. They're filled with all kinds of equipment. The non-specialized ones are like this place, and can be further divided into five elements: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth."

"The Metal Training Field is built entirely of metal."

"The Wood Training Field is a lush forest."

"The Water Training Field is farther away, with lakes and rivers."

"The Fire Training Field is even farther away, located in a volcanic region."

"The Earth Training Field is the most common, like the one beneath our feet. However, some Earth Training Fields contain all kinds of rocks and natural cover. The one beneath us is simply open terrain, nothing more."

Standing in the Training Field, Ye Qingcang swept his gaze over the Shrek group. As expected, he did not find Yu Xiaogang. "As for the right to choose the venue, of course you have it. Giving challengers an environment suited to their strengths is a privilege Blue Tyrant Academy grants to the brave. Every challenger has that right!"

Ye Qingcang's answer was magnanimous.

And it was precisely that magnanimity that made Dai Mubai and the others feel immense pressure.

Ye Qingcang was not being magnanimous because he looked down on them.

It was the confidence that said, No matter what you choose, I'll be the one who wins in the end.

"Now, excluding the teachers who need to be assessed, as well as the students who meet the rules or came in through the back door, there are four people who need to enter through the special route..." Ye Qingcang called them out one by one. "Dai Mubai, Zhu Zhuqing, Tang San, Xiao Wu. Let me confirm with you again: taking the special route means that you are unwilling to give up your original identities, yet still insist on joining Blue Tyrant Academy. Is that correct?"

Flender had wanted to deny it.

But Tang San spoke first. "Yes!"

Dai Mubai, ever loyal to his friends, followed immediately after.

Since Dai Mubai had nodded, Zhu Zhuqing could only nod hesitantly as well.

The two of them were tied to the same rope now.

If Dai Mubai died, she would not survive either.

In an instant, only Xiao Wu remained.

Feeling everyone's urging gazes, Xiao Wu could not help but tremble.

She hesitantly raised her head and looked at the young man across from her, who held an intense attraction for her. Suppressing her body's instinctive reaction, she weakly asked, "If I don't join Blue Tyrant Academy, will you kill me?"

"I will." Ye Qingcang fingered the beads around his wrist. His tone was clearly casual, yet it chilled everyone who heard it. "I told you in the carriage that my Soul Power Level is forty. I wasn't lying. The only reason I haven't killed you yet is because you expressed your intention to apply to Blue Tyrant Academy. If you don't join Blue Tyrant Academy, whether because you don't want to apply or because you fail the assessment, I will kill you. Being able to obtain a 100,000-Year Soul Ring without lifting a finger—even a Titled Douluo would find it hard to resist, wouldn't they?"

"Ha!"

"I knew you were no good!"

Using Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, Tang San flashed in front of Xiao Wu. Without hesitation, he took out the Clear Sky Hammer, pointed it at Ye Qingcang, and shouted sternly, "If you want to hurt Xiao Wu, you'll have to step over my corpse first!"

As he spoke, Tang San slowly turned around.

"Xiao Wu, don't be afraid. I..." Seeing Xiao Wu, who had somehow already retreated two steps and put distance between them, a wordless fury instantly rose in Tang San's heart. "You don't believe me?"

Xiao Wu looked at Tang San's face, so familiar yet so unfamiliar.

She wanted to deny it, but she could not deceive her own heart.

She wanted to admit it, but the words would not leave her mouth.

She truly wanted to ask him whether all those vows of eternal love he had once spoken were merely sweet lies concocted to trick her into sacrificing herself.

But she also knew that if she asked, his answer would certainly be no.

Good people did not need to insist that they were good people.

There was no need.

Bad people did not insist that they were bad people either.

That was hardly something to be proud of.

When she thought about how she had spent six years beside a Titled Douluo and that Titled Douluo's son, she suddenly felt a chill around her neck. Especially since that Titled Douluo's wife had been a 100,000-Year Transformed Soul Beast who had ultimately sacrificed herself to that Titled Douluo. Even if she was not someone who worshipped conspiracy theories, having personally experienced something like this, she could not stop herself from becoming suspicious.

So...

"It's not that I don't believe you, Third Brother..." Xiao Wu's answer made Tang San beam with joy. However, her next sentence froze that joyous expression on his face. "It's that I don't dare trust anyone. Right now, I just want some peace and quiet—to sort out my thoughts. Don't come near me. I just want to be alone for a while..."

(:з"∠)